'An Annotated List of Reference Books for the
Antiquarian Map Collector' [arranged in four broad sections: basic introductory texts (for collecting and the history of
cartography), continental references, the art of cartography (not just aesthetics), and the science of cartography - 2005]
Reading matter (about map collecting and general introductions to the subject)
Print:
See if you can buy one of the titles listed in Books to get you into the
subject, or track them down in your local library - for collecting, try Francis J.
Manasek's Collecting old maps or Jonathan Potter's Collecting antique maps. For
lists of relevant publications and catalogues, see General Bibliographies
, which includes a few entries for specific areas or themes.
'Anatomy of a
collection' (reissue of an illustrated article by Rodney Shirley in The Map Collector 67 (Summer 1994);
about the principles behind collecting, in this case cartographic title-pages - Kunstpedia)
‘Cartography. What is a map?’ (an illustrated essay,
offering an analytical and practical guide to early cartography in general, and dealing with national and local (Dorset) mapping types in
particular)
Collector Cafe
(select 'Maps & Charts' to be taken to a few brief 'articles' about different
kinds of maps, and 'Article Library' for a further selection)
Geography and Maps: an Illustrated Guide
('Introduction' by Ralph Ehrenberg, featuring illustrated sections on Atlases, Special Collections, General Collections, Globes
and Terrain Models, Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing Images, Digital Data and Geographic Information Systems, List of Special
Collections; and a list of the many map images used - Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division)
'The
history of cartography' by J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, from the 'MacTutor History of
Mathematics archive (with an emphasis on the scientific aspects)
'History of maps'
(a simplified outline, leading to 'Milestones of GIS' - gisdevelopment.net)
HistoryWorld offers 13 short,
unsigned and unreferenced sections, linked to other encyclopaedia entries [search on map
for 'Maps: tour through time']
'Lighting Out for the Territory' (a miscellany about map dealers and collectors (mostly in
the US) by Dan Hofstadter for Art & Antiques, December 2009)
'Maps'
(historical essay (broken into short sections), assisting students to understand early maps, by Joni Seager,
University of Vermont, for 'History Matters', George Mason University)
Mary Larsgaard's 'World planimetric mapping' (find this multi-part history, dating from 1991, from her homepage)
The bi-monthly Mercator's World [which ceased publication in 2003] also made some of its
material available online. The links have been restored to this site via the Wayback Machine (February 2006).
Moreland and Bannister's 300-page online bookAntique Maps - for a summary of the subject, see Chapter 1, 'A brief historical survey' and also Chapter 21,
'Buying maps and forming a collection'
The Old Map Gallery's Tips for Collectors (much of the text is taken from Antique Map Price
Record & Handbook)
Patricia Seed's Latitude has brief notes,
designed for students, on aspects of late medieval and Renaissance
navigation (e.g. latitude/longitude, ships, currents, weather, etc) to
help you understand the voyages of Columbus and the other early discoverers
’Tutorial: History of Cartography’ (an illustrated summary - jointly-authored and available
also in the various EU languages, Chinese, Russian and Turkish)
'Understanding engraved maps' (reissue of a 1989 illustrated article by Tony
Campbell in The Map Collector, explaining the basic rules of cartobibliography)
University of Texas at Arlington's Cartographic Connections site
includes brief introductory texts: 'What is a map?'; 'Anatomy of a map'; and
'Deciphering a map'
‘World History Sources: Maps' is illustrated with early maps and with sections on
(e.g.) ‘What can maps tell us?’, ‘What choices did the mapmaker make?’ - from an author whose
research interests are in 'feminist geography, environmental policy, and global political
economy'; this can be downloaded as a single, 22-page pdf essay (a
project of the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, by Joni Seager',
University of Vermont)
Italian. 'Mondi di carta' (encyclopedic entries, with links to other similar
compilations in Italian, from sapere.it)
Multi-lingual see ’Tutorial: History of Cartography’ above
Spanish. 'La evolución
de los mapas a través de la historia' (an illustrated summary, in Spanish, of the history of cartography from the earliest
times up to the 17th century, by Mario Ruiz Morales in Mapping Interactivo: Revista Internacional de Ciencias de la Tierra,
May 2006)
Visit a local map dealer, or attend a map fair, so that you can see some original maps. Or
check out the illustrated, online listing of Antiquarian Mapsellers'
Catalogues, accessible via the special Oddens' Bookmarks search option provided for the history of
cartography [though note that this site is no longer being maintained]. The 'Web Images' page includes a
section on Larger map dealer sites . Use those links to locate pictures of
maps of a particular region, or search out those by a specific maker. This is also a way to find out
something about an individual item, although the descriptions may be rudimentary. You can also learn about
prices from those sites. Look at Joel Kovarsky's Book search engines on the web: use for map-related materials, or the more specific
retail search engine for maps maintained by the International Mapsellers Association (IAMA).
For a round-up, see Marketplace, which
also has sections on map fairs and auctions.
Conservation
See, for brief and clear notes from a knowledgeable map dealer Joel Kovarsky's 'Care of old maps'. Also specifically on this
topic, from the British Museum's celebrated former Conservator, A.D. Baynes-Cope, is 'The conservation of maps' (LIBER Bulletin
12 (1978)). Another early article, again by an expert, Robert C. Akers, was recently put on the web by Kunstpedia:
'The Cleaning and Restoration of Maps', originally in The Map Collector 10 (March 1980).
Take a look at Preservation 101: An Internet Course on Paper Preservation, from the Northeast Document Conservation Center {this is being
reviewed, March 2007, and will be reissued 'soon'}; as well as their online leaflets on a wide variety of Preservation and Conservation topics.
For UK suppliers of conservation materials see the British Cartographic Society's 'Map Curators' Toolbox' under
'Equipment and supplies'.
Besides the links above, see also under 'Map Societies' below and, for topics such as paper and watermarks, the Bibliography section of the 'Special Topics' page.
There is also an Internet list: Roadmaps-L and two societies: Road Map Collectors Association; and Association des Collectionneurs de Guides et
Cartes Michelin [contact Denis Rivière: DENIS-RIVIERE(at)wanadoo.fr (NB. You need to replace
(at) with the @ symbol)].
Pascal Pannetier runs a quarterly print journal, Route Nostalgie. For
other information on road maps see under 'roads' on the 'Themes'
page of 'Web Articles'. For images of road maps, see 'Web Images',
select the appropriate geographical heading, and search [Ctrl+F] for 'roads'.
